Cheteshwar Pujara and his wife receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Indian Test cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine along with his wife on Monday.

Sharing a picture on Instagram, the 33-year-old urged everyone to get their vaccine as soon as possible, given that cases are rapidly rising in India.

"@puja_pabari and I got our first dose of the vaccine today. Urge each one of you to try and get yours too if eligible," Cheteshwar Pujara wrote.

Earlier today, Indian captain Virat Kohli also received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccinated Indian cricketers are likely to take their second dose prior to departing to the UK next month for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand and subsequent tour of England.

A tough road ahead for Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara hasn't been in great form with the bat over the last couple of years. He has suffered a dip in form since the conclusion of India's 2018-19 tour of Australia.

In his last 17 Test matches, the No. 3 batsman has struggled to rack up big scores. Pujara has managed to score just 818 runs in 28 innings at a below-par average of 29.21, and hasn't registered a single Test century since February 2019.

The cricketer will have a massive role to play in England, with India's chances of winning the World Test Championship directly proportional to his performances.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who was with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) until a few days back, will have to get back to his best soon if Team India is to do well on their upcoming assignments.

India's squad for WTC final against New Zealand and subsequent tour of England:

Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wkt; subject to fitness clearance).

Standby players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla